Dear South Hadley friend:
Our next town election will be on Monday,
April 4, 2011. I am a candidate for re-election to the Selectboard.
I’d like to tell you briefly about my first term and what I see for
the future.
I was honored by the voters of South
Hadley to be elected three years ago. In my first term, I have
concentrated on learning more about town government and working in a
productive way with the other four Selectboard members.
The year of 2010 was the busiest year
since I was elected. In January of last year, the Selectboard
hired a new Town Administrator and two new Selectboard members were
elected, both of whom have contributed very well to our work. I believe
the Selectboard is now functioning well.
In April, I was elected Vice-Chair of
the Selectboard and I have served as one of the Selectboard’s representatives
to Mount Holyoke College.
I initiated our South Hadley's suicide
prevention coalition in April and our Localocracy in July. In December, I worked with Mount Holyoke College
on a successful Youth
Commission fundraiser and I created our Selectboard
Facebook page. I believe
that these kind of efforts to strengthen our community and improve our
communications are as important as balancing our budget each year.
I expect that 2011 will be as busy as
2010. South Hadley will continue to face limited state aid, which
represents a significant part of our budget. Therefore, we must
find other sources of new revenue. Our good new Economic Development
Commission will help. However, we have virtually no control over
state aid, and new economic development will probably only come slowly.
Yet there is much that is within our
control. I was pleased to help lead the successful effort to adopt
our local option meals tax. The Selectboard has recently received two independent
reports, one from the consulting firm of Municipal Resources of Meredith,
NH, and a second from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue.
Both documents make excellent recommendations to improve
our town government.
I believe that we should adopt most or all of the suggestions in those
reports. If we do, we can make our government more efficient and
more economical and yet at the same time able to serve our residents
better.
I would look forward to working for three
more years with the other good members of the Selectboard, our Town
Administrator, and all the employees of the town to improve our government
and serve the residents our community. I welcome your suggestions.
Please contact me anytime at 413-532-5792 or by email at BobJudge@BobJudge.com.
I ask for your support for my campaign
and your vote in the town election on Monday, April 4. Thank you
for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Robert G. Judge
Committee to Elect Robert Judge
P.O. Box 695
South Hadley MA 01075
The Daily Hampshire Gazette, Tuesday, April 8, 2008
"S. Hadley Nixes CPA, Turns
Out Incumbent," by Stephen C. Hill
The Republican, Tuesday, April 8, 2008
"Charter Panel Scores Big Win,"
by Sandra E. Constantine
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